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So I was thinking about other ways to help every one and to hopefully get some responses from other folks out there on better ways to record and to maybe get folks to share some tips and tricks that they have found over the years in their effort to capture the sweet spot. This gave me the idea for this posting.

I have found a LOT of info in a lot of places and thought I might share some of my ideas as well for all of you audio engineers and home enthusiast. Below you will find links and videos and I also would kindly ask that if you would like to share your thoughts and ideas please feel free to do so. Lets dig in!!

I own a few of these microphones and when I found the manufacturers website I discovered it was chock full of all sorts of info and helpful links to better understanding and info on microphones and how the work. Here is one link http://www.oktava-online.com/appl.htm

Closed-back headphones such as the Sennheiser HD250 (left) are more suitable for monitoring while recording than open-backed models such as the Sennheiser HD600 (below), because the former design reduces spill from the monitoring signal into the microphone.

However much you rely on a computer to provide sounds and help create arrangements, if you want to include vocals, you still need to know how to mike and record them properly in what may be a less than ideal room. We offer some tried and tested solutions…

A vocal recording starts at the microphone, but before even getting into the issues of mic choice and mic placement, there’s the matter of the recording location to sort out — and it goes without saying that this should be isolated as much as is possible from the physical noise generated by the computer’s fans and drives. A lot of people think they need to buy better gear to sort out a vocal issue, but when you get to the bottom of the problem, it’s often down to the room and its influence on the sound.

Now that large-diaphragm condenser mics manufactured in the Far East (such as the SE Electronics SE1000) have become so affordable, it makes little sense to use a dynamic mic for vocal recording, even if you’re working to a strict budget.

Closed-back headphones such as the Sennheiser HD250 (left) are more suitable for monitoring while recording than open-backed models such as the Sennheiser HD600 (below), because the former design reduces spill from the monitoring signal into the microphone.

Positioning your singer with their back to an non-reflective surface can help avoid a boxy sound when working in a small room — a few panels of acoustic foam or a double duvet are often enough to do the trick.

You don’t You don’t need to do anything too fancy to record vocals, but the mic should be well away from any walls, and the area directly behind the singer should be non-reflective. This could be an area of foam tiles or it could be a duvet, but one point to watch out for is that, in rooms where a lot of damping material has been applied, you’ll often find that it only absorbs effectively down to around 250-300Hz. So what actually happens is that frequencies below 300Hz are allowed to predominate, making the sound seem congested or box

Set up the mic a couple of feet from the centre of the room and make a test recording using no processing at all to see if the basic tonality is OK. If it’s not, the chances are that the problem is with the room or the mic placement, so try more hanging absorbers and move the mic around relative to the walls

I will place more info on working with recording on the next issue. I also would love to have some of you share what are some great tips that you have found thru the years to make great recordings. You never know who might be influenced thru your wisdom and sharing they might have the next BEST recording out in the world.